Main Page...Read 30 ways in 30 days to guide yourself to live more Environmentally Conscious for the life of our Planet!

Day 20. - Old Phones, Computers & Electronics...Donate or Recycle!

Summary:

Use technology products as long as they are useful, and donate or e-cycle them when you finally must replace them.
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Here are some quick facts:

Cell Phones:
Over 100 million old cell phones per year are replaced, and that number is growing fast as other countries become wired.

Computers:
With technology changing quickly, many people upgrade and replace computers every couple of years. Businesses, both large and small, make regular upgrades to maintain competitive advantage. There are valuable and harmful metals and components in these machines, so if they cannot be resold or donated, they should be taken to a recycling facility.

TV's:
The average US household currently has nearly 2.5 televisions in their home (A.C. Nielsen Co.). Televisions are quickly being replaced with larger, flatter screens, and federal laws are changing to require digital broadcasting, and the public is quickly replacing televisions that cannot receive digital signals.

The worst thing that you can do is put some working electronic product in the dump...be sure to exhaust all local sources for donating your electronics or giving back to the original seller for recycling, including old batteries. Recycling electronics is more appropriately termed "e=cycling," and most larger companies, like Sony, Dell and others, have special drop off centers for their electronics. You may also call the store that you purchased it from and ask about their e-cycling program.